The Complainant owns the NALGENE trademark, registered for use in association with bottles, among other goods. The Registrant purchases products with the NALGENE mark through an authorized Canadian distributor, and resells the goods on his website (including through use of the Domain Name). The Registrant responded and took the position that his website was driving sales of authentic products and as a dealer of these products there is an implied license to use the NALGENE mark.
The Panel found that the Registrant did not have a legitimate interest in the Domain Name because, “as a general proposition, Registrants cannot simply shoehorn themselves into legitimacy by exploiting the power of an owner’s mark for the sole purpose of attracting Internet users to their websites.”
The Panel also found that the Domain Name was registered in bad faith because he made an offer to sell the Domain Name for $25,000.00, admitting it was a “tongue-cheek request ...so as not to appear overly rude or dismissive”
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